an-

prefix. intensive prefix

an-

very

an- (2) intensive or superlative prefix carrying the idea of "very" or "most", seen in ancalima "most bright" (cf. calima "bright"), antara "very high, very lofty" and #anyára "very old" or "oldest" (the latter form occurring in the so-called Elaine inscription [VT49:40], there with the dative ending -n). Assimilated to am- before p-, as in amparca ("k") "very dry", and to al-, ar-, as- before words in l-, r-, s- (though Tolkien seems to indicate that before words in l- derived from earlier d, the original quality of the consonant would be preserved so that forms in and- rather than all- would result). See also un-. (Letters:279, VT45:5, 36) Regarding the form of the superlative prefix before certain consonants, another, partially discrepant system was also set down in the Etymologies and first published in VT45:36. The prefix was to appear as um- or un- before labialized consonants like p-, qu-, v- (the consonant v preserving its ancient pronunciation b- following the prefix, thus producing a word in umb-), as in- (technically iñ-) before c- and g- (the latter presumably referring to words that originally had initial g-, later lost in Quenya but evidently preserved following this prefix), and as an- otherwise. However, this system would contradict the canonical example ancalima, which would have been *incalima if Tolkien had maintained this idea. In a post-LotR source, the basic form of the prefix is given as am- instead (see am- #2). In this late conception, the prefix still appears as an- before most consonants, but as ama- before r, l, and the form an- is used even before s- (whether original or from þ), not the assimilated variant as- described above. General principles would suggest that the form am- should also appear before y- (so the form #anyára probably presupposes an- rather than am- as the basic form of the prefix, Tolkien revisiting the earlier concept in the _Elaine inscription). (PE17:92)_

an-

re

an- (3) prefix "re" in antúlien, q.v. (LotR-style Quenya shows en- instead.)

ana-

prefix. to, towards

A prefixal form of preposition an(a) from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/NĀ¹). It was mentioned as a verbal prefix {na- >>} ana- in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 (PE17/147), and while the paragraph where it appeared was rejected I think it likely the prefix itself was retained.

an

for

an (1) _conj. and prep. _"for" (Nam, RGEO:66), an cé mo quernë… "for if one turned…" (VT49:8), also used adverbially in the formula an + a noun to express "one more" (of the thing concerned: an quetta "a word more", PE17:91). The an of the phrase es sorni heruion an! "the Eagles of the Lords are at hand" (SD:290) however seems to denote motion towards (the speaker): the Eagles are coming. Etym has an, ana "to, towards" (NĀ1). The phrase an i falmalī _(PE17:127) is not clearly translated but seems to be a paraphrase of the word falmalinnar "upon the foaming waves" (Nam)_, suggesting that an can be used as a paraphrase of the allative ending (and if falmalī is seen as a Book Quenya accusative form because of the long final vowel, this is evidence that an governs the accusative case). In the "Arctic" sentence, an is translated "until". Regarding an as used in Namárië, various sources indicate that it means an "moreover, further(more), to proceed" (VT49:18-19) or ("properly") "further, plus, in addition" (PE17:69, 90). According to one late source (ca. 1966 or later), an "is very frequently used after a full stop, when an account or description is confirmed after a pause. So in Galadriels Elvish lament […]: An sí Tintallë, etc. [= For now the Kindler, etc…] This is translated by me for, side an is (as here) often in fact used when the additional matter provides an explanation of or reason for what has already been said". Related is the use of an + noun to express "one more"; here an is presumably accented, something the word would not normally be when used as a conjunction or preposition.

han-

prefix. *back as an answer or return by another agent

ana-

prefix. to, towards

i

article. the

-da

suffix. product of an action

-mo

suffix. agental suffix

A suffix of which Tolkien said “the ending -mo often appeared in names or titles, sometimes with an agental significance” (WJ/400). It is based on the pronoun mo “(some)one”. This suffix is often specifically neuter, as in [ᴹQ.] nilmo “friend” vs. male and female [ᴹQ.] nildo and nilde (Ety/NIL).

Conceptual Development: The suffix ᴱQ. -mo appears all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s in words like ᴱQ. laulemo “inhabitant” and ᴱQ. qolimo “invalid” (QL/52, 78).

-nen

most nouns have an instrumental in -nen

-nen instrumental ending (pl. -inen, dual -nten, partitive pl. -línen). Attested in ambartanen, lírinen, lintieryanen, súrinen, parmanen; see ambar (#2), lírë, lintië, súrë, parma. Tolkien noted that "most nouns have an instrumental in -nen" (PE17:62), a wording suggesting that the form of the ending may vary; given the normal development ln > ld, it is possible that it would appear as *-den when added to a noun in -l (*macilden "with a sword").

-nna

to

-n (1) dative ending, originating as a reduced form of -nă "to", related to the allative ending -nna (VT49:14). Attested in nin, men, ten, enyalien, Erun, airefëan, tárin, yondon (q.v.) and also added to the English name Elaine (Elainen) in a book dedication to Elaine Griffiths (VT49:40). The longer dative ending -na is also attested in connection with some pronouns, such as sena, téna, véna (q.v.), also in the noun mariéna from márië "goodness" (PE17:59). Pl. -in (as in hínin, see hína), partitive pl. -lin, dual -nt (Plotz). The preposition ana (#1) is said to be used "when purely dative formula is required" (PE17:147), perhaps meaning that it can replace the dative ending, e.g. *ana Eru instead of Erun for "to God". In some of Tolkiens earlier material, the ending -n (or -en) expressed genitive rather than dative, but he later decided that the genitive ending was to be -o (cf. such a revision as Yénië Valinóren becoming Yénië Valinórëo, MR:200).

-nna

to, at, upon

-nna "to, at, upon", allative ending, originating from -na "to" with fortified n, VT49:14. Attested in cilyanna, coraryanna, Endorenna, Elendilenna, númenórenna, parma-restalyanna, rénna, senna, tielyanna, q.v. If a noun ends in -n already, the ending -nna merges with it, as in Amanna, formenna, Elenna, númenna, rómenna as the allative forms of Aman, formen, elen, númen, rómen (q.v.). Plural -nnar in mannar, valannar, q.v.

-r(o)

suffix. agental suffix

An agental suffix derived from ancient ✶-rō̆ (WJ/371), usually appearing as suffixal -r but sometimes as -ro as in quentaro “speaker, minstrel” (PE19/83; PE18/51). The fuller form appears especially in cases where the word is taken to be masculine: compare its feminine form [ᴹQ.] quentare “minstrel [f.]” (PE23/85). Tolkien indicated -rō was sometimes accompanied by nasal infixion, and that there was another variant -rdŏ > rd (WJ/371), but there are no clear signs of -r(d) in his later writings (but see the ᴱQ. examples below).

Based on the example ontari “parents” plural of [ᴹQ.] ontaro “parent [m.]”, it seems the usual plural form of this suffix may be -ri even in cases where -ro survived into Modern Quenya. This plural could be because of Quenya’s general dislike of repeated r-sound. However, ontaro may also be a specifically masculine form of an unattested gender neutral ✱ontar “parent” and ontari may be the plural of that gender neutral form, in which case likely there is no plural for the specifically masculine form. Regardless of the exact phenomenon in play, I would assume the plural of words like quentaro “minstrel” is quentari, referring to a group of minstrels of any gender.

Conceptual Development: There are no examples of -ro in the Early Qenya of the 1910s and 20s, but there are examples of agental -r and sometimes -ar, as in ᴱQ. maksar “cook” from ᴱQ. maksa- (QL/59), and ᴱQ. vaktelear “merchant” from ᴱQ. vaktele “trade” (QL/99). There are also examples of -r(d), such as ᴱQ. ektar (ektard-) “swordman” (QL/35) and ᴱQ. moar (moard-) “shepherd” (QL/60).

am(a)- Archaic

prefix. intensive prefix

ambena

nearer to (to a further point in the motion) towards an object

ambena adv. "nearer to (to a further point in the motion) towards an object" (PE17:91). Also amna.

amna

nearer to (to a further point in the motion) towards an object

amna adv. "nearer to (to a further point in the motion) towards an object" (PE17:91). Also ambena.

an(da)-

prefix. superlative prefix

ana

to

ana (1) prep. "to" (VT49:35), "as preposition _ana _is used when purely _dative formula is required" (PE17:147), perhaps meaning that the preposition ana can be used instead of the dative ending -n (#1, q.v.) Also as prefix: ana- "to, towards" (NĀ1); an (q.v.) is used with this meaning in one source (PE17:127)_

an quetta

a word more, to add to what has been said

as

with

as prep. "with" (together with), also attested with a pronominal suffix: aselyë "with thee" (VT47:31, VT43:29). The conjunction ar "and" may also appear in assimilated form as before s; see ar #1.

as

with

o (2) prep. "with" (MC:216; this is "Qenya"; WJ:367 states that no independent preposition o was used in Quenya. Writers may rather use as.) See ó- below.

as

preposition. with

car-

with

#car- (2) prep. "with" (carelyë "with thee"), prepositional element (evidently an ephemeral form abandoned by Tolkien) (VT43:29)

cirya tyulma

a ship-mast, ship’s mast, mast of an unspecified ship or any ship

horya-

have an impulse, be compelled to do something, set vigorously out to do

horya- noun "have an impulse, be compelled to do something, set vigorously out to do" (VT45:22)

in

the

i (1) "the", indeclinable definite article (I, Nam, RGEO:67, Markirya, WJ:369, WJ:398, MC:215, 216, 221). A variant in (q.v.) is also attested. Hyphenated i- in i-mar "the earth" (FS), i-Ciryamo "the mariner's" (UT:8), i-aldar "the trees" (Narqelion), attached with a dot in i·yulmar "the cups" (VT48:11), I·Eldanyárë "the History of the Elves" (LR:199), i·arya *"the best" (PE17:57), directly prefixed with no hyphen or dot in icilyanna = i cilyanna in SD:247, also ihyarma "the left hand" in VT49:22 (but i hyarma in other versions of the same text).

in

article. the

ita

very, extremely

ita, íta adv. 2) "very, extremely" (PE17:112). Like #1 above, this element emerged as part of Tolkiens efforts to explain the initial element of the name Idril (Q Itaril), so it is questionable if #1 and #2 were ever meant to coexist in the "same" version of Quenya.

lai

very

[lai adverbial particle "very" (VT45:8)]

lé

with

lé (2) prep. "with" (PE17:95)

lé

preposition. with

The preposition lé “with” was mentioned in a (rejected) etymology of S. di “with” in Tolkien’s notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/94), from the phrase le nallon sí __di__’nguruthos (LotR/729), usually translated “here overwhelmed in dread of Death, I cry”. In this note, Tolkien eventually decided that S. (n)di actually meant “beneath”, and its Quenya equivalent was Q. nî.

Conceptual Development: Prepositional ᴹQ. le also appeared in the Lament of Atalante from the 1940s, in the phrase ᴹQ. Númeheruvi arda sakkante __le__néme Ilúvatáren “the Lords of the West broke the world by [or with] leave of Ilúvatar” (SD/246, 310). Here “with” seems to be used in the instrumental sense “by means of”.

The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. le “with (accompaniment)” under the early root ᴱ√LĒ (QL/52). Le was also mentioned in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon as the equivalent of G. li “with (of accompaniment only)”, but also used to mean “and” between nouns (GL/54). In this period the instrumental preposition seems to be ᴱQ. ma, which appeared in a few phrases from ᴱQ. Sí Qente Feanor from the 1910s: ᴱQ. __ma__lto ísier i nosta “✱by those from whom this birth was known” and ᴱQ. nalto fustúme __ma__ Melkon “✱they can be smelled out by Melko” (PE15/32). Compare G. ma “with instrument or by agent” from the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/55).

Neo-Quenya: I would retain ᴺQ. lé for purposes of Neo-Quenya as a rarely-used instrumental preposition meaning “with, by (means of)”, reconceived as a derivative of √LEÑ “✱way, method, manner” (PE17/74).

lú

time, occasion

lú noun "a time, occasion" (LU)

lúmë

time

lúmë (1) noun "time" (LU, PE17:168) or "hour", locative lúmessë (VT43:34), pl. locative lúmissen "at the times" (VT49:47), allative lúmenna "upon the hour", elided lúmenn' in the greeting elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo "a star shines upon the hour of our meeting", because the next word begins with a similar vowel. The complete form lúmenna omentielvo is found in WJ:367 and Letters:425 (footnote). Cf. also the compounds lumenyárë and lúmequenta, q.v.; see also #sillumë.

mairë

noun. art, work of high and beautiful art, process of producing an art work

A word in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 that Tolkien described as meaning “a work (or the process of producing a work) of high and beautiful art” based on the root √MAY “make (in artistic sense)” (PE17/163). It thus has most of the same meanings as English “art”.

metya-

verb. put an end to

metya- vb. "put an end to" (MET)

na

to, towards

na (2) prep. "to, towards", possibly obsoleted by #1 above; for clarity writers may use the synonym ana instead (NĀ1). Originally, Tolkien glossed na as "at, by, near"; the new meaning entered together with the synonyms an, ana (VT45:36).

na

preposition. to, towards

@@@ fix weird cognate bug

nassë

person, an individual

nassë (1) "a person, an individual" (VT49:30). Also translated "true-being" (pl. nasser is attested), the inner "true" being of a person. With a pronominal suffix in the form nassentar "their true-being" (PE17:175, cf. -nta #2), in the source referring to the "true" spiritual nature of the Valar, as hidden within their visible shapes. The word nassentar would seem to be plural, *"their true-beings". Not to be confused with the verb nassë/násë "he/she is"; see ná #1.

nár

noun. fire (as an element), fire (as an element); [ᴹQ.] flame

The basic Quenya word for “fire” derived from the root √NAR of the same meaning (PE17/29, 38), more specifically “fire as an element” or as a force or abstract concept (PE17/183), versus ruinë “a fire, a blaze” which is an individual fire or blaze in the physical world. In The Etymologies of the 1930s it appeared as ᴹQ. nár or náre “flame” derived from the root ᴹ√NAR “flame, fire” (Ety/NAR¹).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had as a derivative of the root ᴱ√SAH(Y)A “be hot” the word ᴱQ. Sā “Fire, especially in temples, etc. A mystic name identified with Holy Ghost” (QL/81), and this “mystic name” was also mentioned in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/81). Thus it seems ᴱQ. sá was “mystic fire”, as opposed to ᴱQ. uru which was ordinary “fire” (QL/98).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use this word as [ᴹQ.] náre as an independent word, and use nár or nar in compounds only. This helps keep it distinct from nár the plural of ná- “to be”.

oi(o)

noun/adverb. ever, everlastingly; an endless period, ever, everlastingly; an endless period, *aeon

orome róma

an Orome horn

orë nin caritas

I feel an urge/wish/desire to do it

re

re

[re, possibly a 3rd person singular emphatic pronoun, struck out by Tolkien (VT49:49)]

sanwë

thought, an act of thinking

sanwë noun "thought, an act of thinking" (VT39:23, 30; VT41:5, 13, PE17:183)

ten

for

ten (2) conj. "for", in Fíriel's Song; apparently replaced by an in LotR-style Quenya.

yá

when

yá (2) conj. "when" in the sentence yá hrívë tenë, ringa ná "when winter comes, it is cold" (VT49:23). Compare írë #2.

yá

conjunction. when

A relative conjunction “when” appearing in various phrases in Tolkien’s writings of the 1950s and 60s, a vowel-lengthened form of the relative pronoun ya.

Conceptual Development: Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 had ᴹQ. í glossed “(relative) at the time mentioned, at the same time”, a vowel-lengthened form of the relative pronoun ᴹQ. i (PE23/109). This was also given the gloss “when, whenever” in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from this same period (PE22/121). Earlier still, ᴹQ. íre was used as the relative conjunction “when” in Fíriel’s Song of the 1930s. In the Early Qenya Grammar it seems ᴱQ. yan “when” served this function (PE14/59).

í(qua), illume, iquallume

conjunction. when, whenever

írë

when

írë (2) conj. "when" (subordinate conjunction, not question-word: írë Anarinya queluva, "when my sun faileth") (FS). Compare yá #2.

ó

with, accompanying

úsië, an cé mo quernë cendelë númenna, ve senya

on the contrary, for if one turned the face westward, as was usual

Third phrase @@@

| |  I  | II |III|IV|  V  |VI|VII| |{lasi >> la >>}|lasir|>>|ūsir|úsir| |úsir|>> úsie| |{pan >> an >>}|an ké mo| |{nanquerne >> númequerna >>}|querne|{quernesse >>} quernes|querne|quere|querne| |immo|kanwarya|kendele| |númenna|(ve senya)|númenna| |(ve ...)| |(ve senwa)|(ve senya)|{i hyarma} númenna|ve senya|

þurië Archaic

noun. *(an act of) seeking

armac-

verb. to fight along with (an ally), fight side by side

A neologism for “fight along with (an ally), fight side by side” coined in the Neologism of the Day channel posted on 2025-12-08 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of ar(a) “beside” and mac- “hew (with a sword)”.

car

noun. act, an action

A neologism for “act, an action” by Helge Fauskange appearing in the VQP (VQP) derived from √KAR “do, make”. I prefer carda for an action.

céta-

verb. to offer, propose, suggest; (lit.) to make an opportunity

A neologism coined by Luinyelle posted on 2024-05-27 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a causative verb based on the root √KE “have an opporunity”.

ilquaurë

adverb. all the day

lai

adverb. very

malumë

adverb. when

nauya-

verb. to conceive [of an idea]

surië Reconstructed

noun. *(an act of) seeking

A noun for “✱(an act of) seeking” implied by minasurië “enquiry”, as suggested by Carl Hostetter (VT42/29-30 note #39).

uhtessë

noun. öknamn, a name given as an insult, usually for a disdained person

A neologism coined by Fëastorno posted on 2025-04-02 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) as a combination of uhta- “dislike” and essë “name”.